First week of February, 2016 I started my life as a visually impaired individual. Those were not my finest hours. My left eye had been ‘gone’ for at least six months. Maybe longer. I still did not miss it all that much.
“In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king.” (Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus).
I was able to do just fine with my right eye and never considered myself to be handicapped. I stood above that level. I was highly capable and doing just fine.
I also never considered my second eye could fail me virtually overnight. Still, believe it or not, it happened. I went from being a fully functional professional to someone who could not see to read a computer screen and who was having three and four panic attacks a night. Like I said, not my finest hours.
Fast forward to the first week of February, 2017. I write this a couple of weeks ahead of time and hope to Hades nothing falls apart until this gets published, but I want to tell you, on this the first birthday of my ‘new life’, I’m okay. (Unless all hell break loose again, in which case, all bets are off! In that case, please ignore this page ?)
A year ago, I had my doubts. Big doubts that life could ever be livable again. You might be there right now. You might be wondering where you will be in a year.
I stand here to tell you it is not the same, it is not perfect, but it is not as bad as you imagine it could be. Humans are highly adaptable creatures if they give themselves permission to be so.
Allow yourself to grow and you will surprise yourself. Promise.
What else have I learned in the past year? More than I EVER wanted to know about eyeballs and progressive, degenerative retina disease. It has become my ‘hot topic’. Get me started and I can clear out a room! Suddenly everyone else has something he needs urgently to do!
I have learned I am surrounded by some of the finest people in the known Universe.
That is both on and off planet?. People are incredibly kind and want nothing more than to help.
I have learned there are amazing devices and futuristic research out there.
Much of it is aimed at improving the functioning levels and the lives of us, the visually impaired. When I say this is the best time in history thus far to be going blind, I am not blowing sunshine up your skirt! It is ever so true. We live in amazing times.
Am I going to be able to function this well for ever? No. Progressive, degenerative disease here. I know it is eating away at things in there. I know one of these days I will have to quit work and become even more dependent on others. But see paragraph above. I do not believe I will be blind forever. I have serious hope and I believe that even if I go blind, I will see again.
So for now, 365 days down. One day at a time for however long it takes.